A CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE ON OUTSIDER ART

Jordan MacLachlan – Unexpected Subway Living

Another uber-project from MacLachlan is her vignettes of what does or might happen on the subway. Displayed on a 24-foot table is humanity in all its gory detail: a headless pig-walker, a woman giving birth, and a man being attacked by a pack of dogs. In the midst of this chaos sits a pure white Buddha deep in meditation on a subway seat, oblivious to it all, or perhaps, accepting it all as the stream of life. Not, we hope, what we will encounter on our morning commute to work, but certainly possible if all parallel universes happen to collide in one unforgettable moment.

Such is the vivid vision of Jordan MacLachlan, who sculpts her figures with terracotta, plaster, varnish, paints and make-up. I am forever astounded by the quirky humour of this artist who casually drops laugh-out-loud images into the bleakest scenarios. It leaves me gasping for breath… in a good way.

Oh, look, there’s a snowman sweeping up debris!

Waaait a minute… is that Santa? Or is it Noah waiting for the animals to hop into his sack?

And then, thankfully, there’s the Buddha, the sole figure of serenity in this glorious jumble of humanity.

Jordan is heading off to NYC for the Outsider Art Fair this weekend, where her work is being featured by Marion Harris. Kudos to you, Jordan!